Psalm 84:1-12
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. 4 Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Selah 5 Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion. 8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! 9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed. 10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.
This seems like kind of an odd text to study today given that we, (and actually all congregations) are struggling to find creative ways to worship together even when we're apart and uncertain how much longer that will be. Yet, not only is this one of the Lectionary texts for today, I think there's a lot that we can learn and be reminded of exactly because of the place that we find ourselves in, with hybrid worship. While we have certainly come a very long way in the last year, thanks to the leadership of this church and all the tech volunteers who have done so much to make worship accessible and as safe as possible, we've got more work to do. We’ve got more technology and worship ideas to explore and discernment about going forward, while we hope and pray that this variant gets contained and obliterated soon, because I really, really miss being all together and I know you all do, too. So on this hot and dark and dismal day, I think this is exactly the Psalm we need to be focusing on.
In verses 1-2 the psalmist, (who's actually a pagan), has traveled a very long distance to see, and be in, the gorgeous temple to witness all of its grandeur and beauty. We, too, have a lovely, beautiful sanctuary and you know that not all churches are pretty. Some of them are downright dark! But we are blessed with a beautiful sanctuary. Not only members but visitors, (even if they come during the week to look at the sanctuary for a memorial service or a wedding), the first thing they say is, “Oh wow! What a beautiful church!” But this church is more than beauty. This sanctuary holds a specialness, because it's the dwelling place where we not only meet and see each other, but are also especially met and seen by God.
As people have returned to worship over the last several months, at least one person a week mentions how much they have missed being here; “How good it is to be back”, “How good it feels to be home”. And for those who have not yet been able to return, I imagine, like in verse 2, that your souls long to be in “the courts of the Lord” and that you yearn for your heart to sing with joy” (and all of us) to finally, someday sing again without masks. We will all be as happy as the psalmist when we can all be together. And the psalmist is so delighted in being in God's presence, he uses the words happy and joy five times!
So here we have a future vision of the psalmist. But the Psalmist doesn't deny that they and we will travel through some valleys. Don't we know that already? Commentator Walter Harrison says that “the journey may be difficult and dangerous, but God will open a way”, “that the valley of fears and tears will become a place of springs and pools from which we can be nourished and refreshed”, which we all certainly need. The journey may be arduous, but “those who seek God will go from strength to strength”, which we need reminding of, because this has gone on too darn long.
But there's even a bigger reminder. Zion, which is mentioned in verses 5 through 7, (which is another name for Jerusalem as well as the temple itself) is where God was believed to have dwelled. Throughout Israel's history, the belief of where God was located kept changing. When Moses and the Israelites left Egypt, for instance, God’s presence was not “in the temple”, but going with the Israelites through the wilderness, “known as “God on the move”. Throughout the centuries and millennia, the belief where God dwelled continued to change. And I imagine that those who are still at home, may be feeling left out by not being able to come “to the temple and be in God's presence”. But that's not so. Walter Brueggemann, an Old Testament scholar says, “A closer reading of this psalm suggests that the celebration of the temple points beyond itself to the reality of God; God who is the source of all life and the true focus of trust.”
Friends, while gathering and worshiping is a major part of our faith and our growth as individuals and as a community, no matter where we are, we are always, always in God's presence. We hear this again in Psalm 139. “Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to Sheol, you are there. If I go to the farthest limits of the sea, you are there.”
So friends, wherever you are this day or whenever you watch this Zoom, sometime tonight or sometime this week, no matter what, we are never apart, because nothing can separate us from the love of God. So, hold on to the dream that one day soon we will be together, all together and safe and healthy and even stronger.
I’ve got to tell you after all this time, I really miss seeing the kids rush up here and talk, even if it's just two or three. And so we have to work as hard as we can and pray as much as we can so that we can get everybody back together, because it's not only this dwelling place, but it's also God's dwelling in us and in each of our hearts, no matter where we are. So wherever you came from today, whenever you watch this service, let's take some time to acknowledge not only the beauty of this sanctuary and of this congregation and of this faith community and all that we do. But wherever you are, for however long you'll be, you are always and are right now in God's presence. So take a moment to dwell on that.